Fake NIA officer held at airport with 10kg hydroponic marijuana

A woman impersonating an NIA officer to smuggle ₹10 crore worth of hydroponic marijuana was arrested at Delhi airport after customs officials caught her.

New Delhi

Customs officials said the woman had flown in from Bangkok on November 8. (Representative photo)

A woman, pretending to be an officer of the National Investigation Agency, to smuggle hydroponic marijuana worth ₹10 crore at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, was arrested by customs officials.

Customs officials said the woman had flown in from Bangkok on November 8. A team already placed her under discreet watch from the moment she exited the aircraft, they said. The seizure included 20 vacuum sealed packets, weighing around 11kg.

“While being monitored, she was seen stepping into a washroom where she switched from a black jacket to one carrying the national emblem and the words National Investigation Agency,” an official said, adding the move appeared to be aimed at walking through the airport unchecked.

Customs said was intercepted soon after she crossed the Green Channel, after an X-ray of her bags. “When questioned, she claimed she was an NIA officer and refused to open her luggage,” the official said, adding that she also produced an ID card that was later found to be fake.

Officials said that an NIA team was called in to verify her credentials and assist with the case. “They confirmed she was not connected to the agency. She was arrested under the NDPS Act and the investigation is continuing,” the official said.